


Vacation

by ArtistAtHeart1



Category: Batman - All Media Types, DCU (Comics), Red Robin (Comics)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Bruce's orders, Cabin Fic, Gen, Protective Bruce Wayne, Psychological Drama, Ra's is a creep, Stalking, Suspense, Tim Drake is Red Robin, Tim Drake-centric, Tim gets sent on vacation, Tim needs a vacation, Vacation, Worried Bruce Wayne, and a stalker, brief capture, but Ra's has other ideas, vacation gone wrong
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-05
Updated: 2019-03-09
Packaged: 2019-11-12 05:53:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,218
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18005084
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ArtistAtHeart1/pseuds/ArtistAtHeart1
Summary: "So what's your plan for the day?"Tim began pacing around the living room."Get breakfast, maybe go for a swim, and will try to make my way home in the afternoon so I can be home before nightfall.""Sounds good. You haven't seen the Demon's Head, have you?"Tim smirked, noting Bruce's ever present concern."Thankfully, no. I was able to enjoy yesterday pretty… Oh shit."A hand covered Tim's mouth briefly as he stopped in his tracks as he looked out the sunroom window."What's wrong?" Bruce questioned, concern instantly bleeding through his voice.Tim remained silent, his eyes still glued onto the window."Tim!""Ra's is outside the window." Tim anxiously responded. "He's staring right at me."Or, when Bruce sends Tim to an old cabin to get some time away from Gotham, but it doesn't go as planned.





	1. Chapter 1

The rustic door of one of Bruce's childhood cabins opened. Tim slowly entered the kitchen, a duffle bag hanging on his shoulder. Once setting the keys on the counter, he decided to tour the house. It was smaller than he had initially thought. There was the realitively basic kitchen, with a stove, fridge, sink and cabinets, which led into a decent sized living room that housed two grey couches and a TV. Parallel to the kitchen entrance was a screen door that lead to a sun room housing a table, several chairs, a bookshelf, and several wide windows exposing the beach a few feet away. On the right side of the living room was a small hallway keeping two bed rooms and a bathroom to itself.

It was a nice place. Clearly used for the Wayne's more relaxing ventures. Tim could imagine all the memories Bruce must have had for such a place. It was a comfortably quaint cabin. Definitely more so than some of Bruce's other vacation houses.

However, Tim was still a little annoyed about his reasons for being there. Bruce wanted him to take a break from Gotham and the taxing job that was Red Robin. Apparently, Bruce thought Tim looked tired and stressed. He thought Tim could use a break from it all. While the offer of a change in scenery with a few days to himself was welcomed, Tim didn't entirely like that he was 'forced' to do it. Well intended or not.

He set the duffle bag in one of the bedrooms before slowly reentering the living room. He briefly observed his surroundings once more. The vibration of a phone caught his attention, causing him to pull it out of his pocket and looked at it. Bruce was calling him.

"Hello." Tim greeted, starting to pace around the room.

"Hey." Bruce replied. "You make it?"

"Just getting settled in now. I got to admit, it's cozier than I expected."

Tim could hear Bruce chuckle in amusement.

"Of course. I may be set financially, but my parents advocated for enjoying the smaller things in life."

"Can't say I knew that." Tim sighed. "I just don't get why you want me to be here."

"You've been overworking yourself Tim. I know you can be, at the very least, a workaholic at times, but even you need a break every now and then. I want you to enjoy yourself. Relax."

Tim groaned, tilting his head to the side.

"Alright. I get it."

"Good. Now enjoy yourself, and make sure you check in."

"Will do dad."

Another chuckle sounded before the line went dead. Tim disconnected his side of the call before slipping his phone back into his pocket. Walking into the sun room, Tim gazed outside. He may not have been in much of a mood to swim, but he did want to at least walk onto the beach.

Water crashing onto shore greeted Tim as his feet sunk into the sand. Tim passed a fire pit on the way, which he could see using once or twice. The weather was pleasant and breezy. Tim approached the shoreline, marveling at the rippling blue tide.

It was peaceful. The motion and sounds of the water definitely eased some of the chaos in his head.

"It's been a while Detective." A voice greeted, distracting Tim.

Tim turned towards the owner of the voice. The realization caused him to jump back startled. A few feet away from him was Ra's. Tim didn't expect to see the man, and didn't feel particularly prepared to fight him.

"I was beginning to wonder when I might see you again." Ra's admitted, approaching Tim.

Tim tried to back away, only for a hand to grip his shirt, stopping him. Cold hands grabbed Tim's face and forced him to look at him. Ra's observed the teen as though checking for an illness.

"You look well." Ra's noted. "In good health, which is always a good thing. Still, you owe me for my services."

"I don't owe you anything," Tim argued, pushing out of Ra's' grip, "and I didn't ask you to contact me."

"Of course you didn't, but contacting you on any given day can be difficult. However, I'm not one for giving up."

Ra's started to fix the gap between them.

"Stay away." Tim ordered, stopping the man. "I don't know who you think you are, but I'm not about to let you pull anything over me."

Ra's smirked, amused by the demand.

"So be it." Ra's accepted. "It was good to see you Timothy. I hope we can talk again soon."

Ra's made his departure, leaving Tim alone. With Ra's' back steadily getting farther away, Tim bolted towards the cabin. He slammed the door behind him and stood with his back to the windows. He was anxious about the encounter.

It was intimidating for Ra's to pop up in front of him. Even more so when they were not too far from what should have been a secluded location. The fact that Ra's had even considered approaching him, demanding for payment, was even more perplexing.

The sound of another round vibration startled him. Reaching for his phone realized he was getting another call. This time from Conner. Tim picked it up, putting the phone next to his ear.

"What's wrong?" Conner anxiously questioned. "Your heart rate just spiked."

Tim wasn't all that alarmed by the observation. It was a perk of Conner's Kryptonian genes after all. However, the fact that Conner had responded so quickly was a little surprising.

"Would it be inconvenient for you to meet me here?" Tim inquired.

"Not at all." Conner denied. "I'm not too far from where you are. I'll be there in a few."

Tim filled him in the moment Conner got there. Conner got defensive, wanting to jump right into action. Tim refused to let him do so. With Ra's gone and Conner the only person knowing about the encounter, Tim didn't want to deal with the repercussions. Tim was shaken by the encounter, there was no getting around that, but he didn't want to cause an uproar. Especially without Bruce knowing.

Conner managed to understand Tim's concern, but wasn't going to leave Tim alone so quickly. He wanted to do something now that he was there for Tim. After some prying, Conner managed to pull Tim out of the house for a little bonfire in the fire pit. Tim was sitting by the fire, staring at it intently.

"I'm sorry that this happened." Conner apologized, taking a seat next to Tim. "What are you going to do?"

"I want to try and enjoy this required vacation." Tim admitted. "But I don't exactly feel safe right now."

"Would you like me to stay?"

Tim sighed. Embarrassment being the only emotion available.

"Just for tonight. I just don't feel comfortable being alone. I'm sorry."

"You don't need to apologize. You're supposed to be out here relaxing and it kind of got disrupted. I wouldn't be too comfortable with it either."

Tim shot Conner a grin.

"But you will call the big bad bat tomorrow."


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tim and Conner spend some time together, Tim contacts Bruce, and Tim tries to enjoy the second night.

Tim and Conner woke up with ease. They slept well and there was no sign of any unwanted attention. Tim was relieved. That didn't stop him from keeping Conner for a few hours, however. He wasn't about to send Conner off with an empty stomach, and the dinner a few minutes away provided an excellent breakfast.

In exchange, Tim agreed to let Conner yank him to the beach. Conner was able to get Tim waist deep in water. Conner was definitely more invested in swimming than Tim was. Conner wasn't about to let Tim sit out and pushed him, causing him to lose his footing and fall into the water. Tim emerged cold and completely wet. An annoyed glare shot at the Kryptonian, who could only smirk in mischief.

After drying off and having lunch, Conner had to leave. Tim followed him outside, wanting to bid him farewell there.

"Make sure you call Bruce once I'm gone." Conner reminded, floating off of the ground.

"I will." Tim confirmed.

"You better. I've got to get back to my side of town. Ma and Pa Kent need help and I promised Supes I'd be there."

"Have fun."

"I will."

Conner flew off as Tim watched. Once Conner was out of sight, Tim ventured into the house. He pulled his phone out and dialed Bruce's number like he promised. He planned on calling Bruce anyways, but it put Conner's suspicions to rest.

"Hello?" Bruce greeted.

"Hey Bruce." Tim replied.

"How are you?"

"Good."

"Enjoying yourself?"

"Yeah. It's pretty nice… not including my surprise visit."

Tim could feel Bruce's concern through the call.

"What kind of surprise visit?"

Tim started to pace around the living room. He was a little nervous to tell Bruce about his find.

"Oh, you know, our friendly neighborhood stalker Ra's showed up yesterday."

He wasn't sure what kind of noise Bruce made, but Tim knew it wasn't a happy one.

"Don't worry, he's gone, but I thought you should know."

Bruce didn't initially respond. Tim could tell that he was planning what to do next.

"Do you want to come home?"

"No. I want to be here. I want to enjoy this little vacation. I haven't seen him since and I'm fine."

Bruce sighed, clearly a little distressed. It was Tim's decision, and he did want Tim to enjoy himself. However, the mere mention of Ra's made him feel uneasy. Especially in such a secluded place where Tim was on his own.

"Alright, but if anything happens you better get out of there and let me know."

"Of course. Wouldn't do it any other way. I'll call you later alright? I think I'm going to go for a walk. Enjoy the weather while it's nice."

"Okay. Enjoy your walk."

They both hung up simultaneously. Tim sighed. He was glad that Bruce didn't overreact about the declaration, even if he was concerned. Knowing that he was still wearing his shoes, Tim did what he told Bruce he would do.

Tim started to approach the cabin. The first thing he noticed was the elderly neighbor, Ms. Grimsby, outside. Her house was a few feet away, but she looked like as though she had been working on her garden.

"Hello Ms. Grimsby." Tim greeted.

"Hello there young man." Ms. Grimsby replied. "Wonderful day, wouldn't you agree?"

"Yeah."

Upon further observation, she seemed a little antsy about something. She kept staring between Tim and the cabin. She seemed confused by an unknown factor.

"Were you expecting company?"

"No, why?"

"While I was watering my roses, I saw a man walking around the premises. I thought maybe he was looking for you and told him that no one was home."

Tim was puzzled by the statement. He had an inclination as to who it could have been, but the notion of it was troubling.

"Did he say anything?"

"No. He just left. He was a rather good looking fellow if I do say so myself, but was dressed rather peculiar. Wore a suit with a red sash and a green coat looking thing."

"Thank you for letting me know."

"You're welcome. By the way, I'm heading home tonight, so I want to say that it was so nice to meet you."

"It was nice to meet you too."

Ms. Grimsby hugged Tim.

"Do tell Bruce I say hello, and to call me. I haven't seen him in ages."

"Will do."

Tim entered the cabin. When he entered the living room, he collapsed on the couch. Thinking about Ra's' appearance, Tim wondered why he did when he wasn't even there. If Ra's was trying to spook him, he chose a poor time to try. Was Ra's trying to rattle him by disturbing the neighbor? Rattle Tim with the thought that he was watching him?

Either way, Tim shook it off. He didn't want to think about it, nor did he want to let it get to him. Tim's stomach vibrated, making him change the subject. Not wanting to wait around the house, Tim decided to go to the diner for dinner.

Flashing lights lit up the darkened room. Twisted in blankets, Tim was in a deep sleep. He started twitching, a dream starting to make him a little restless. Two more flashes of lightening passed before Tim jolted up. The sound of rain caught his attention for a moment before he slid out of bed.

Tim slowly dragged himself into the living room. He didn't have much of a plan, but thought that maybe a little movement would wear him out. A flash of light caught his attention, but what he saw startled him. The familiar silhouette of Ra's painted the wall. Turning towards the window, Tim saw nothing outside. Tim sighed, not alert enough to process what he saw.

"Back to sleep Tim." Tim tiredly told himself. "You're too tired for this."

Heading back to the bedroom, Tim went back to sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tim's vacation comes to an end in a rather unwanted way.

"By the way Ms. Grimsby wants you to call." Tim stated, walking into the kitchen. "I'm surprise that someone actually misses you."

"Is that so?" Bruce sarcastically replied before Tim chuckled. "She was always such a nice lady."

"Definitely."

"So what's your plan for the day?"

Tim began pacing around the living room.

"Get breakfast, maybe go for a swim, and will try to make my way home in the afternoon so I can be home before nightfall."

"Sounds good. You haven't seen the Demon's Head, have you?"

Tim smirked, noting Bruce's ever present concern.

"Thankfully, no. I was able to enjoy yesterday pretty… Oh shit."

A hand covered Tim's mouth briefly as he stopped in his tracks as he looked out the sunroom window.

"What's wrong?" Bruce questioned, concern instantly bleeding through his voice.

Tim remained silent, his eyes still glued onto the window.

"Tim!"

"Ra's is outside the window." Tim anxiously responded. "He's staring right at me."

This time it was Bruce who was at a loss for words as Ra's and Tim watched each other. Neither one seemed to want to break eye contact. Ra's took a step towards the house causing Tim to gasp.

"Get out of there." Bruce hastily demanded.

Tim twitched at the order before finally deciding to move. As he turned for the door, the sound of glass shattered through the house. Tim didn't need to look back to know what happened. He made it to the kitchen when a hand grabbed his arm and threw him back into the living room. Tim landed on his back and as he tried to sit up, he was forced back down by Ra's' foot. The foot kept him on the ground as Ra's confiscated his phone.

"Here's what's going to happen," Ra's began, "I'm taking Timothy with me. You won't get involved if you want him to remain unharmed."

"And if I refuse?" Bruce inquired.

Ra's stomped on Tim's abdomen, causing the teen to gasp in pain. It didn't get ignored by Bruce.

"Let him go Ra's."

"No. I always get what I want Detective, and you owe me an heir."

Ra's hangs up the phone and tossed it aside. He removed his foot from Tim's chest before grabbing his collar and yanking Tim to his feet. Tim was too anxious to do anything as Ra's grabbed his chin.

"What are you going to do?" Tim asked.

"You heard me." Ra's stated. "Claiming an heir."

"I don't want to be your heir."

Tim knocked Ra's' hand away. He got into an offensive stance and threw a punch at him. It was in vain as it was blocked and followed up by Ra's grabbing his throat.

"I don't care."

"Bruce will stop you."

"But he's quite far away. Far enough for me to have a little fun before we go."

Ra's let Tim go, letting him breath without the suspicion of being choked. He didn't let the teen do much as he kept a grip on his arm.

"Why don't we have a little fun? This is a vacation after all."

Ra's dragged Tim around like a ragdoll. After touring the house, noting the simplicity of the cabin and the anomaly behind Bruce owning it, he decided that briefly staying there would be an intriguing experience.

Tim was unsettled by Ra's' presence. As much as he wanted to, he couldn't turn his back to the man. Running wasn't a safe option either, there wasn't anywhere that he could run to and Tim knew Ra's wasn't going to let him leave.

They were both in the living room, quietly observing each other. Ra's was comfortably settled in the center of the room while Tim impatiently paced around the room.

"You sure don't seem too eager to get out of here." Tim noted.

"You're rather impatient." Ra's replied. "I didn't know you wanted to jump into training so soon."

"I don't."

Ra's started to move, approaching Tim. He forced Tim into the corner of the living room.

"I want you to know the feeling of being trapped in your own home."

Tim scoffed, not amused by Ra's' scheme. He tried to move away from Ra's, only for him to grab Tim's collar and held Tim against the wall. Ra's was definitely making the attempt to reiterate his point, not that Tim liked it.

"You owe me a debt."

"You said that the other day, and I believe I said that I don't owe you anything."

Ra's' demeanor lightened as he carefully observed him. Recounting several events and what he's gathered about Tim, Ra's moved his hand beneath Tim's face.

"I'd hate to see you're potential waste away. I'm trying to give you so many opportunities, tools, to improve your performance. What would it take for you to willingly submit to me?"

Tim took the opportunity to knee Ra's in the stomach. It was enough to make him release the teen, but not enough to give Tim room.

"Nothing you can say or do will make me go along with you willingly." Tim argued. "You should know I'm not easily persuaded and would never give you that kind of insight."

It didn't take long for Tim to get thrown across the room. His arms chaffed against the carpeted floor. Ra's was darkly annoyed as he overshadowed Tim.

"There will be a change in plan." Ra's stated. "I think I'll just leave a warning."

Bruce burst through the door, running into the cabin. Panic was the only thing on his mind as he entered the living room. What he found was chaos. The room was torn apart, furniture roughed up and the glass door between the living room and sunroom cracked.

In the center of it all was Tim, curled up on his side on the floor. Bolting over to him, Bruce knelt down and rolled him onto his back. Tim was roughed up, clearly a sign that Ra's' patience had been tested. A note was found folded up in Tim's lightly clenched hand. Bruce took it and inspected it.

_There's more than one way to take an heir Detective. Time and patience being key. Upon inspection, it's clear that today was not his day. So for now, enjoy what's left of Timothy._


End file.
